The Smiling Moon and the Pink Rabbit
by Peaches and Sweet Cream
Summary: Madarame joins the Gotei 13. Yachiru is young and only sees the good stuff. Ikkaku hates the world. They rub off on each other.


((If you like it, please review. I hope you enjoy it to the end. Sorry if there is any ooc-ness, but remember that they mature into their current characters at the end, so ooc-ness should be expected in the beginning.))

The Pink Rabbit and the Smiling Moon

_Time: Sometime in the morning_

_Significance of Entry: Just joined the Gotei 13_

"My name is Yachiru Kusajishi, assistant captain of 11th company. I'm happy to meet you!" She bowed her head, but I smiled and told her not to. She looked at me with dark eyes silently asking why I was so kind to her.

My answer was stupid; something that I shouldn't have said, but I did anyways. "You're the assistant captain! I'm just a lowly shinigami with no seating."

She dropped the scabbard for her zanpakutoh down on the top of my head, and my nerves recollected themselves and recognized the pain. Stupidly, I replied with an 'Yoh!"

She folded her arms over each other. "Why are you so sad? You made it into the Gotei 13! That's really good!"

"But I can be better." I murmured, rubbing the spot where she struck me. "I wanted to be directly underneath Captain Zaraki."

"Then keep trying." She reassured, and I smiled a smile that failed to reach my eyes. "But I don't think you'll take my place. I'm pretty tough." The assistant captain grinned.

I didn't realize that a pink-haired rabbit would be so influential.

_Time: Sparring hour, two years after joining Gotei 13_

_Significance of Entry: Can little shinigami girls really read minds?_

"Ikkaku?" A small girl tapped my shoulder, and I spun my head around to look at her. "You have candy."

I held the wooden sword awkwardly. "Uh, well, maybe I do. Wait! Why the hell would I give you my candy?" I looked away to Yumichika, who was filing his nails.

Without looking at the assistant captain, I knew she was starting to cry; using her cute, little face as a weapon was low. Really low, but she didn't care, did she?

"I'm not low. I want candy." She whimpered, grabbing onto my shihakusho. "Just one piece?"

I reached into my pocket and huffed, "Fine. If you really want it."

After shoving the mint into her mouth and throwing the wrapper on the ground, she reached into my pocket and stole the rest of the candies. It didn't take long for the pink-haired thief to run away.

"What the- god damn it!"

What did I expect?

_Time: The sun is going down, twenty years since I entered the Gotei 13_

_Significance of Entry: The afterlife doesn't suck… I guess_

I sat outside of my stable, tapping Hozukimaru's scabbard on the ground methodically. Presumably, Yachiru, my superior, appeared at this most… relaxing time.

She sat down next to me quietly, with her zanpakutoh in a little wagon beside her. "Ikkaku?"

"… Yes?" I answered quietly, ceasing the rhythmic beating.

"Do you ever wish you could remember what it was like to be alive?"

I pondered the thought before answering. "No."

"What?" Came her exasperated reply. "But we must've led some exciting lives!"

"I don't want to remember dying." It was simple, and I could tell she understood.

"Yeah. That makes sense. But don't you want to remember all the good stuff too?" She murmured.

"Maybe, but I'd miss it."

"But at least you would've have felt it. So, technically, there would be no point in missing it." She argued.

"I guess you win that one." I admitted, throwing her a smile. She slapped my face, but the grin didn't fade.

_Time: The afternoon has just begun, seventy-five years since I joined the Gotei 13_

_Significance of Entry: Ryoka have attacked Soul Society_

Yumichika sat beside me on the tiled roof top. He smoothed back his hair and beamed toward the area where the Ryoka landed. Several buildings down, Yachiru sucked on a grape lollipop on Zaraki's back and he eagerly watched the Ryoka fall down like shot birds.

"Which one is the strongest, Kenny?" Yachiru chirped from behind Zaraki and he watched the invaders with one eye. "Which one are you going to fight?"

"I can't tell right now. Their spiritual pressures are all whack." He grunted, hopping one roof closer to us.

"It's that one." Yumichika pointed toward one of the shooting stars. "He's strong, alright."

"How do you know?" Yachiru whined. "Kenny knows better than any of you!" She stuck out her tongue.

A vein throbbed in Yumichika's forehead. "I am very well-trained in detecting spiritual pressures."

"Yachiru, don't be so mean." I huffed, resting my hand on Hozukimaru's hilt. "Yumichika hasn't done anything to you."

"Shut up, Pachinko Head!" She spat a glob of, what else, purple saliva at me. "Take that!"

The spit bullet grazed the side of my head, but I took out my anger on the roof tiles by putting all of my weight on them.

By the time I looked up again, Zaraki and Yachiru had gone. Go figure.

Yumichika laughed. "You know what?"

"What?" I grumbled.

"You have gotten a lot nicer. But Yachiru has gotten a lot meaner. I think you're switching personalities or something." He observed, grinning at me.

"Really? Elaborate." I said, intrigued.

"You used to beat up anyone who barely ticked you off and you were always cussing at nothing. If weren't busy with cursing all beings, you were sitting in a corner with a sad look on your face."

"… … Yeah." I said hesitantly.

"And Yachiru used to call us by our names instead of these new… filthy nicknames. She never complained."

"That's true."

"But now she's a little more realistic and understands that not everything happens for a person's own good." Yumichika stated, leaning forward and resting his elbow on his knee. "This has made her more efficient in battle, too, and that's always good. She sees people for who they really are, and she understands the proper amount of respect that should be given and received. In short, she's matured."

"By becoming mean?" I snorted.

Yumichika shrugged. "Maybe not mean, but… open-minded and honest."

"In other words, mean."

"But you're a different case." He said, ignoring me. "You have gotten nicer. You don't judge people by one measure. You are more apt to make friends now that you have more view points to use. You're kinder. Sweet, really."

"Aw, shucks. You're pretty nice- for a stalker." I grunted, chopping the top of his head. "Seriously, you been watching us or something?"

"Ow! Watch the hair." He complained, flattening it out with his palm. "But still, you're missing the point. You're rubbing off on each other."

"You just have to make it sound dirty, don't you?" I smirked, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Dirty? I resent that! I'm just an observer, that's why I notice these things! Wait, hey, don't get that look on your face!" He furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't be so ugly in your emotions, though I can't help but feel your looks do determine your personality."

Since no insulting comebacks came to mind, I pulled his hair.

_Time: Same time as last entry, though only a day has passed_

_Significance of Entry: The strongest Ryoka defeated Zaraki_

"They say he's going to live." Yachiru whispered. "But he looked dead. Like _really_ dead."

"Is there any other kind?" I hissed. "Anyways, have some faith in the captain. He's been through worse times, y'know?"

"This was pretty bad. But Kenny had some fun. That's what matters, right?"

"Well, survival ranks up a little higher on the list." I replied, chuckling. She slapped my arm.

"Don't be so disgraceful!" She jeered.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who's practically asking for him to die."

"I don't." The pink-haired shinigami muttered.

"Huh?"

"I don't want Kenny to die." She whimpered, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shihakusho. "He isn't supposed to die right now. We promised."

"What did you promise?" She was silent. "Tell me, please."

"We made a promise th-that he wouldn't die until he had beat all of the shinigami, hollows, whatever. And there are so many he has yet to beat! That's why I don't want Kenny to die! He's the only one I have…" She sobbed into my robe, and I hugged her.

"He's going to live." I reassured her. I hoped I wasn't lying.

_Time: The moon is at its highest, one week since the Ryoka left Soul society_

_Significance of Entry: It's quiet_

The crickets chirped in the reeds. The grass whispered to the trees which continued to reach for the sky. The sky swirled with silver clouds the color of my blade. My blade rested at my side. By my side was a cricket. The cricket chirped gleefully. And so on.

Everything was connected and alive. A perfect flow of nature and sound and life.

"Pachinko Head!"

All ruined by a pink-haired rabbit.

"What are you—"

All disturbed by a pink-haired rabbit.

"DOING?"

All interrupted by a pink-haired rabbit.

The assistant captain chucked her zanpakutoh's wagon at my head, and though I tried, I could not dodge it. The metal made contact with my skin, and sliced part of it. I was left with a bleeding cut, and mental rabbit, and a very, _very_ bad mood.

"WHAT the hell is wrong with you, girl?" I swore, grasping in the vicinity of her neck (which would have been a pleasure to wring). "You have destroyed the flow!"

"… Flow?" She tilted her head in interest.

"Yes, FLOW." I repeated irritably. "Everything was connecting."

"Like… this?" She touched her index fingers together. A grin was plastered on her features.

"Uh-huh. Sure…" I gave in, and closed my eyes, as if the action would eliminate her existence.

"Hey, Ikk- Pachinko Head?" Yachiru sang, sitting next to me.

She hesitated. "Do you think that we'll every see Ichi again?"

"Of course, wait, that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"

"No." She admitted, curling a piece of her rose-tinted hair. "It's not."

"Then what did you want to talk about?"

"Is Pachinko Head my friend?" She asked me, though it seemed she was speaking to the moon.

"I don't know. I'll ask him when I see him." I gritted my teeth.

She frowned. "How about Ikkaku?"

"Yeah. I think he's your friend." I lifted my shoulders toward the sky neutrally, laughing inwardly.

"And Matsumoto? And Shuhei? And Yumichika? And Hitsugaya? And Ichigo? And everyone that has ever existed?" She shrieked, tackling me.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, and YES! I am pretty sure they're all your friends, Yachiru." I hooted, patting my stomach.

"Yachiru has so many friends besides Kenny!" She expressed her amusement by mimicking my earlier actions.

"Yeah." I chortled sentimentally, if possible. "You do, don't ya?"

"Friends are good." Yachiru added in. "I like friends."

The rabbit and I gazed at the sky in wonder as the cycle resumed and life began again. The clouds parted to reveal the moon.

It seemed to be smiling.

((Well, it's over. I would oh-so much love it if you left a review for me. Please don't expect and more additions to this. It's a one-shot.

Anyways, please keep checking for more stories if you enjoyed this one. If you like variety, that's great.

I wish you all lanterns filled with starlight.))


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